An informal pre-Christmas tasting of ports with the theme "A bottle of port which cost you less than £25", as suggested by winesecretary and organised (with plenty of help from others) by richn.
Plum fruits on the nose, quite sweet. Wonderful fruits led by the plum but with red fruits and chocolate. Enjoyable tannic structure. Excellent, my wine of the night.
70% opaque, purple still rather than red. But, rich red fruits on the palate. Very good. A exemplar of how good this somewhat variable port can be when it is on form.
Mature red colour with a medium rim. Vegetal nose, although not showing a lot, perhaps some baked fruit. Smooth and light entry delivering soft and gentle fruit. A much better mid-palate where the fruit grows, red and sweet with soft tannins. Lively acidity spices up the aftertaste and offers a great dose of blackcurrant fruit pastilles. A nice persistence of flavour on the finish; slightly more elegant than most other Ports tasted alongside this one. Later in the evening this turned to be rather a punchy Port. Served blind, this was guessed to be Dow 1994. 88/100. Tasted 17-Dec-19. Decanted 8½ hours.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
80% opacity, deep, dark, dull red. Dates and figs on the nose. Rich, full mouthfeel, light tannins, red fruits not yet ripe, short finish with some bitterness.
